


easier to be

by dialecstatic



Category: Professional Wrestling, 新日本プロレス | New Japan Pro-Wrestling
Genre: Fluff, Hair Dyeing, I'm Sorry, M/M, this will probably give you cavities
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-16
Updated: 2015-07-16
Packaged: 2018-04-09 17:03:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4357292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dialecstatic/pseuds/dialecstatic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>kushida helps alex with his hair. alex reflects on rare moments.</p>
            </blockquote>





	easier to be

**Author's Note:**

  * For [altair](https://archiveofourown.org/users/altair/gifts).



> written for my cool kid altaïr!
> 
> i swear i am incapable of writing anything else but teeth-rotting fluff for these two.
> 
> title and quote from "easier to be" by lifehouse.

 

> It felt like the world  
>  Fell from my feet  
>  Gave up on myself  
>    
>  You didn't give up on me  
>  Let myself go  
>  You were still there  
>  Like coming home  
>  Coming up for air
> 
>  

* * *

 

"How does my hair look?"

The question comes as Kushida has a mouth full of instant noodles, and he makes a hamster face at Alex before swallowing. He's heard the question countless times, mostly before matches, so he doesn't seem to think much of it until he sees Alex fiddling with the roots, which have been growing out a lot during his recovery, a conflicted look on his face.

"Maybe I should grow it out. Go back to the natural brown."

Kushida raises an eyebrow.

"What do you think?" Alex makes a pouty face, and Kushida smiles. "Do you think I'm prettier like this, or did you like me better with all brown hair?"

Kushida looks like he wants to throw his chopsticks at him.

"You know I like you either way."

"Okay." Alex hears his own voice catch at that, and hopes Kushida won’t notice. Alex also knows that he will. "But, like... Would you like me if I had Tanahashi's haircut? Or Omega's?"

They both wrinkle their noses at that last one. How Omega makes what he calls a hairdo work for him is a mystery, but on anyone else it would probably be classified as a crime against humanity.

"Okay, maybe not. But if I had, say, Taguchi's haircut?"

This is ridiculous.

"I like what you have now. I think it suits you." Kushida's free hand finds its way to Alex's hair as he says this, and Alex leans his head into the touch.

"But I think you need to take care of this." He tugs gently at the roots. "You have some bleach in the bathroom, right?"

Alex's eyes widen.

"You wanna do that right now?"

"So you will stop worrying? Yes."

"You know this could potentially end up in disaster, and we both die from the fumes, right?"

That makes Kushida chuckle. Alex says a lot of stuff like this, and no matter how ridiculous it is, it never fails to make Kushida laugh, so it's ok.

(Alex will never tell him that he says those things just to see the way his eyes crinkle and his tongue pokes out of the corners of his mouth when he laughs.)

"Let's do this." Kushida says, grabbing Alex's hand and guiding him out of the living room. "So you can stop worrying about your hair and get back to doing something productive, like kissing me."

Alex almost trips over the carpet and Kushida smiles to himself, depositing his dishes in the sink and urging Alex to do the same, pressing himself against his back for added effect. Alex braces himself on the counter, letting out a small laugh before pushing back against Kushida, getting their bodies impossibly close to each other. When he turns around, he lands on his bad foot and winces, and Kushida’s expression immediately turns to concern.

“Are you okay? Do you need to sit down?”

“Nah, it’s fine. I’m going to be sitting down when we do my hair anyway, so.”

They look at each other for a moment, Alex cursing himself for making Kushida worry. He hates this. he hates that he got injured, that he can’t be at ringside with Kushida, that they had to put Time Splitters on hold. He hates that Kushida has to worry about him, with everything else that’s going on. He breathes in and leans down for a kiss, lingering there and smiling against Kushida’s lips.

“Let’s go.”

**

When they’re in the bathroom, Kushida looks on as Alex prepares the bleach, laughing at the faces he makes when the smell prickles his nose. Alex barely exaggerates the expressions when he notices that it makes Kushida smile.  When it’s done, Alex sits on the edge of the tub, signaling for Kushida to come sit next to him.

The process is amusing, to say the least. Kushida struggles to get the rubber gloves on, and then almost spills bleach all over the floor, but they manage to settle down and actually get started.

“Man, was it always such an adventure when you bleached your hair?” Alex teases, and Kushida motions that he’s going to poke his eye, so he shuts up.

Soon enough, he relaxes into the easy motion of Kushida’s fingers in his hair, not even bothered by the slight pull when he works at the roots. Kushida’s gentle, much more than Alex when he does his own hair, or than any hairdresser for that matter. Then again, Alex thinks, any situation is better if Kushida is with him. Even the smell of bleach isn’t as abrasive as it usually is.

“Done!” Kushida exclaims, making Alex snap out of his reverie.

“Oh.” That’s when the smell starts attacking his nose again, and he feels the familiar itch in his scalp. “Uh. Thanks!”

He’s too aware of how unnatural he sounds.

It’s trivial really, but he wishes moments like this would never end. That they could stay in their little corner of the world, where nobody’s issuing challenges and nobody’s ambushing them and they don’t have to worry about anything but each other.

He knows too well that it can’t last. But it doesn’t stop him from hoping.

He carefully turns around to face Kushida. They’re still sitting on the edge of the bathtub, and the smell of bleach is getting more and more insistent, and Alex is aware that he probably looks really weird right now with his hair covered in product, but he still leans in, as much as he can without getting bleach everywhere, and rests his forehead against Kushida’s. He cherishes the moment while he can.

Kushida exhales, smiles, and twists his head just enough so that their lips meet. It’s as natural as breathing to them, these soft kisses, stolen between training sessions and matches, exchanged during lazy mornings and never-ending bus rides. They may not seem like much to other people, but to Alex, they’re an occasion to catch his breath, and for a moment, just exist.

And that’s more than enough.


End file.
